Hey everybody, I wanna spend a few words about Prop Styling here; I already touched on the theme several times , especially in this post about creativity, but it's worth going back to it and, as usual, a picture says more than a hundred words.



Choosing the right props for a food photo shoot can mean the difference between success and failure.

If you are a professional you'll certainly know and agree; and even if you are just an amateur or a beginner, and you are just starting to build your Portfolio, I definitely recommend checking out prop shops in your area and having a go at it: plan everything in advance, the budget even more so ('cause it ain't cheap ), decide what you are going to shoot and what kind of mood you are looking for, then hire some crockery, some fabrics and a surface. Usually you can keep the props for 5 days, which gives you plenty of time to try different set ups and to perfection a shot if you didn't get it right the first time; no point in taking hundreds of ordinary and uninspired pictures; it's much better to have a less numerous but staggering Portfolio. Repetition is the key.

Experiment as much as you can, try different angles and backgrounds : the colour, texture, and style of the props must complement the food and will help set the mood of the photograph.

If you are reading from Sydney you should absolutely check out this place ; there is so much interesting stuff there that you won't get bored of going back and back again. Markets and second hand markets are good places too, and some antiques shops will also let you hire props and furniture.

Once you get the shot you want, don't stop, capture the same image from a new perspective, restyle the food in a different way or change the lighting set up; you never know, you could get a picture you like even better.



This image and the previous one were both shot using a big homemade soft box ( SB900 fired through hanging white sheets ) and employing a bit of ambient light to act as fill light ;  however in this second version I stuck a second speedlight back into the room to hit the surface of my chair from behind and, in doing so, revealing its wrinkled consistency. Not only this, the back light also casts quite a dark shadow in front of the plate which changes the entire mood of the photo adding a lot more drama.

I haven't decided yet which version I prefer but it's always good to just have a chance to choose. Get me?

Have fun with the props and include a link to your food photography in the comments; we are working on a new outfit for Food Pixels Blog and you can expect changes with the next post.

Dario Milano

Posted in lighting

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